I've never felt more alive than now
by Kounji
Summary: An AC 1 story. In her later years Losvaise encounters a pilot he seeks to teach a lesson by destryoing a cilivian center. But Losvaise has her own lessons to teach. However, will it costs the vetern pilot her own life? Rated Pg 13 for violence
1. Innocent Fire

Author's Note: I do not own armored core or armored core two. They are both copyrighted by From Software and Agetec.   
Author's Note: This story take place during the Armored Core 1 universe and is based off a mission in Armored Core 1 where you sent to wreck havoc in the business district of Gal City. Poor Losvaise how we knew him/her well  
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I've never felt more alive than now  
Part One: Innocent Fire  
  
  
  
"AC Engage Combat mode" Flashed across the vision of Losvaise has she was strapped into her AC Valkyrie. Suddenly it hit the human plus's mind again. It wasn't the walk to her AC inside the Raven's Nest Hangar. It wasn't when she stepped inside her core. Those four words made it aware to her. Once again it was time to pierce a bullet into the hearts of her enemies. Once again it was time to take someone's life. Once again it was time for combat. "Ok this is the combat area the other Raven should not be far Madam Losvaise." the driver of her land ac transport said. The older woman smiled quietly to herself. The young driver didn't know how much is stating of the obvious made her feel nostalgia from when she first became a pilot ten years before .   
  
"I know kid, don't worry about it just drop back a few blocks. This raven's already take out an entire guard detachment without firing a single shot". She told the driver objectively.  
"Understood ma'am I'm rooting for ya all the way" he said sheepishly  
  
Losvaise giggled a bit at the kid's words before she focused her mind on moving the ac down the tunnel with her boosters to maximum. With not so much has a hesitation, her AC blazed off down the tunnel connecting her block and the block her target was on as fast as her ac's name sake would charging off on adventure in the name of Odin. Her heart raced has the force of the lightweight core's boosters threw her into the back of her pilot's seat. As she brought control to herself and her ac, she reached the entrance to the target block and absolute horror. Losvaise gasped subconsciously has she absorbed the sights of freshly burning cars, mecha, and even worse, corpses. "You can certainly tell this raven has heart for his work" she thought. Suddenly her plus vision's radar picked up two blips; one a circle the other a triangle. "One friendly one enemy" she thought. Both of them where bearing to her northeast just around the end of the other street. She switched her weapons over to her trust old rifle she had carried with her since the beginning of her career and boosted her way past the burning vehicles and guard mecha towards the end of the street. The sounds of deafening plasma bolts and screaming laser slashes from behind an office building rang more and more in her ears as she neared closer. She suddenly began to pick on the guard officers radio messages.  
  
"Please damn it. You've made your point now leave this place and stop this meaningless carnage". The desperate officer said while gasping for his very breath.   
  
Losvaise finally reached the side of the building has the Guard officer's final words left his mouth. She was in time to see enemy Raven's Blue medium-class ac charge up his laser blade and slice through the center of the guard's chrome spilling the pilot's very blood and guts on the war torn street. The generator of the scarred mech ignited exploding the units part's all over the area. The enemy raven's laughter wicked filled the Valkyrie's radio.  
  
"Did you hear that fellow Raven, those were the words of man who wanted release. Such a pity had he been a mercenary and not a Guard he might not have died so foolishly" the man said coldly  
  
Losvaise clenched her teeth in anger. "How could you do this? How could, you, a raven, take so much civilian life?" She yelled at the Raven angrily  
  
"It's quite simple Madam Losvaise, I simply don't care for civilian vermin getting in the way of my mission." The raven laughed   
  
The enemy raven rotated his AC toward Losvaise his ac's visor staring straight into the visor of the Valkyrie. Losvaise pushed herself not to attack him so soon until she had a full understanding of the man's reasoning. She was quickly losing hope as well as control. " Bastard they're defenseless. Most Raven's hold at least that kind of honor. How dare you call yourself one of us." She shrieked. Losvaise focused her mind on pointing her rifle directly on the center part of the unit's central core. "Civilians are merely spectators in a world of mercenaries and corporations vying for power. Anyone that wont support the struggle simply falls to it. This is the way it has always..." The man began to say .  
  
"Shut up it's only that way because we're foolish enough to make it that way. The woman interrupted. "These people never had to be a part of it" she continued.   
  
" I don't understand you Madam Losvaise, might you be the muse, and not the warrior goddess?" The man asked pointing his karasawa straight at the chest of the maiden's chariot.  
  
Losvaise, amused by her now truly sworn enemy, laughed at the man's words. "On the contrary, I choose to inspire by fighting".She replied a little lightheartedly. She flinched her eye knowing that the truly inevitable was coming.   
  
"You seem to be dead set on what you believe in fair Valkyrie, might you be willing to die for it." The man said.   
Losvaise knew she was being edged on but any doubts she may have had were defeated by an echoing voice in her head. "He must Learn Losvaise, He must learn". It said. Losvaise could only recognize one thing about the voice. It was her own but she did not speak it.   
Losvaise lowered her head and flipped up the very visor that concealed the bright lights that occurred during combat from her sensitive brown eyes. Her face had chilled more scared and content then ever remembered it feeling. "I've never felt more willing to die for anything else before." she replied coldly.  
  
"Then face me now let me be the judge of that" the man laughed. Suddenly the rival ac's boosters flamed and the ac screamed head towards Losvaise silver mecha.   
  
Losvaise readied Valkryie's trigger finger on her rifle that she had known for so long. She then began to say a short prayer. 'Oh voice in my head, Oh gods that govern our precious fates, Please give me the strength that I might teach the lesson that must teach." She prayed.  
  
She flew towards the oncoming ac not knowing what fate might await her...  
  
  
  
  
To history this actually one of the shortest fics I've written since I've been on fanfiction.net. In other notes I'm not exactly sure if Losvaise was plus, but it works for this story. Anyways if I get enough hits I might start on part two a little bit early  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. A Goddess' Wrath

I've never felt more alive than now   
Part Two: A Goddess' Wrath  
  
  
Losvaise laser blade slash met her opponent's laser slash with the utmost of force. The light of two soldier's sword clashes blazed brilliantly in their core's visors. The blue ac increasingly held its energy blade with more force than Losvaise could hold out against. "Geez, his unit is far more superior than mine!" she yelled in her Norwegian accent. She leapt the Valkyrie backwards and darted into the air as fast as her boosters would allow her. The second she looked back down at her enemy, he had already sent powerful energy streams from his Karasawa. The first shot nailed the center of her core luckily the Valkryie's armor resisted jolt of energy but it would still burn and hiss has gobbles of metal melted some of it. The other shots from the volley glowed a radiant blue has they past by the now in-motion Valkyrie and slammed into the windows of an office building. She shot across the side of the office building readying her aim has best she could. The plus focused her mind has best she could on holding a lock on the enemy core. Valkryie's finger pulled the trigger on the rifle sending its iron shots towards its enemy as it flew backwards.   
  
The enemy unit seemed to almost laugh at the heroine's attempts at harming it as it weaved just a few feet from the shots of the volley. It leapt up off the ground, its visor flaring as it flew towards Losvaise. The unit picked up speed as it let loose bolt after bolt from its gun at her.  
  
The Valkryie hit the ground shortly after a near miss from the first shot. Losvaise boosted to her right and jumped just has another shot grazed her sword arm. She squeezed off two more rounds before taking refuge behind an office building. She glanced down at the bottom of her HUD and saw her shots had hit home on its intended target. Suddenly laughter erupted over her radio.  
  
"Two shots aimed directly at my heart, that is so like you, Losvaise" The man gawked. "But no matter, my core's armor is coated with a special alloy as well as a solid round screen. I'm afraid that little toy gun of yours is going to be useless."   
  
"What's it going to take to beat this guy?" She thought to herself breathing heavily. It suddenly began to get harder and harder to breathe as the adrenaline running through her blood began to peak. With that last statement her opponent had made, hope was beginning to slowly spill from her heart. A quick search using her mind radar pointed out that the enemy was stationary in the middle of an intersection waiting for her.  
  
"Quit hiding you weak bitch, come out and fight me so I can get some satisfaction out of killing you." the man yelled irritably.   
  
Valkyrie began to catch her breath along with her thoughts. "This one certainly has a mouth on him, but be it the truth that he seems to have the upper hand." She laughed to herself. "Why does he seem so intent on fighting me?" she asked herself. She slowly felt the presence of the man looming closer and closer to her. His dark essence neared her more quickly, maxing out his speed, she could tell, from the amount of energy that registered. She prepared herself right as his unit came boosting around the wall she hid behind. It materialized its sword its energy charging up until it formed its point, and swung downward upon her. On instinct the woman retreated backwards just in time and saw the energy sword's plasma trails as it passed by her vision. She took in a gulp of air as she leapt from the ground and squeezed off two more shots at the mech. The shots slammed in to its head causing the armor around the impact zone to peel off but failed to do much else.   
  
The enemy reared it's head up at the unit it's visor's red glow pulsing as if it was screaming in pain, and fired three streams of blue energy at the retreating silver mech. The quickness of Losvaise's reactions and the Valkyrie's speed allowed her to dodge the volley of shots with impunity as she flew up the side of a building. When she looked down at the enemy core she could already see that the vigilant blue AC was in hot pursuit of her.   
  
"Don't you see that no matter how many times you shoot me, no matter how fast you can run, I'll always be right behind you." he said.   
Losvaise blinked twice caught off guard by her attacker's resilience and by the fact that his missile launcher had readied itself.   
"Crap" she yelled  
  
Suddenly out of her opponent's launcher, three upward firing missiles took flight. Their orange flumes glowed brightly as they took off towards her at full speed. When the retreating Valkyrie neared the edge of the building's rooftop she let off her boosters touched down on the roof, and took off in to a sprint. Her sudden speed and angle change caused the third missile to crash in to the side of the building. The first two still kept on the pilot steadily and arced over the roof with ease. With the two missiles close on her heels, Losvaise leapt the Valkyrie off the building hoping that her gamble would result in the scattering of the two missiles against the building. Her gamble had worked and she heard the explosion of them as they blew a chunk out of the building's highest floor.  
  
The sensation of freefall set in on the pilot as she dropped to the earth. As the pilot fell, she quickly began searching for the owner of the missiles. She regrettably found that she didn't have to look far. The enemy came at her with its boosters fully opened only a few meters away from her. His blade quickly charged and he swung horizontally across her unit's chest, the force of strike causing her to be sent downward to the war torn street faster than she may have liked. She tumbled head over heel falling towards the ground faster and faster as gravity began to set in. "Stabilize, Damn it Stabilize. I won't lose. I won't lose to him!" she yelled in her mind as she gathered her thoughts in to setting her mech up right. Quickly the AC responding to her brain stimuli and rotated its back and legs into a semi up right position. When the AC touched the ground Losvaise started a countering boost to keep her ac from smacking to the ground too hard. Sparks sat out as Valkyrie's feet scraped along the concrete. When she stopped she took many short breaths has heart began beating more rapidly than her chest could handle. "I won't let him get the best of me, not that easily." She spoke aloud  
  
"I must say from where I'm looking, that was an impressive recovery Losvaise. Can you dance as well?" he laughed amusingly.  
  
"I don't know. Can you?" she yelled as she switched her weapons over to her slug gun. The weapon folded forward over her shoulder and she caught it with her left hand. "If that unit of his has good protection against my rifle shots, let's see how it handles energy." She thought elegantly. She held a backwards boost as spreads of energy burst exploded from the shoulder mounted cannon. The first burst of Losvaise's energy shots caught the enemy's core in the middle. The enemy core, stunned by the first shot, maneuvered out of the way of the subsequent burst by swiveling just to the left and to the right of them has continued his press on the ever-vigilant Valkyrie. Valkyrie held her firing finger down on the weapon has she noticed it was being much more effective than her rifle had been. The enemy swooped underneath the burst of energy but took another hit to the arm has it took cover behind a smaller business building. Losvaise took in a deep breath while her enemy licked his wounds behind his cover.   
  
"It seems we're just full of surprises today, aren't we Losvaise?" the man laughed trying to catch his breath at the same time.   
  
Losvaise turned her mech in the direction of the foe, ready for any assault he might be willing to muster. Suddenly, Losvaise heard an explosion off in distance near where the unit was hiding. "Did I do it, Did I win?" Losvaise began to think. Suddenly her illusions of victory were trampled on by a sudden message on her radio.   
  
"Damn, it seems you've damaged my Karasawa, but you haven't done much to my spirit." he cried.  
  
"Why?" Losvaise asked sorrowfully. "He's lost his primary weapon, he knows I can dodge his missiles, why the hell won't he surrender."  
  
Suddenly the unit flew away from it's building hiding spot and took off towards the Valkyrie. "You just don't get it do you, I refuse to lose to an idealist old woman like you. En Garde" he shrieked at her.  
The enemy unit flew just a few feet above the street, its boosters whining deafeningly as it took off towards Losvaise. The woman struggled with her thoughts as it neared closer and closer to her. Her view of the block behind her opponent became distorted with the heat emitted from the enemy unit's boosters. On instinct, she switched back to her sniper rifle and began to ready her aim on her target. " I have to put him down here and now" she began thinking to herself. She focused her mind on resting her finger on the trigger of the gun. Just as she was ready to fire a voice began to speak to her again. "Do not retreat to our previous ways, that will only lead you to death…" the voice began to say, "Fight with honor and class and you will always be victorious" she finished. Losvaise laughed at the words her mentor, a man a few years older than her, who went by the name of Olan Kanju, taught her long ago. Losvaise made a fist and pressed into her stomach softly. Those words from Olan had remained in her heart not because they annoyed her, but because she had reveled in them and knew them to be true ever since she first became a pilot.   
  
She held a steady expression on her face has she held her aim became to falter from her increasingly closing target's head. Slowly she lowered her rifle away from her opponent.   
  
"Eject Primary Weapon" she ordered her core through her cybernetic jacks connecting her to her core. The Valkyrie released its death grip on the rifle and the gun gently bounced as it hit the street. The noise became drowned out by her opponent touching down on the ground near her. The enemy repeated the same maneuver that Losvaise had done and ejected his damaged Karasawa out onto a curb off to his right.   
  
An eerie silence was cast over the area. Not a single car on the road in the distance or the howling of a draft coming in from the city's air filtration system could be heard. The two pilots eyes locked onto each other even though they were encased in cores.   
"Hmm, so there is a shred of honor in you after all" Losvaise hummed.   
  
The woman charged her red blade up out of her left arm. It hissed has it finished forming a point.   
  
"What the hell could some cold hearted woman like yourself, who shoots a rifle at people from afar know about honor." the man cried.  
  
"Much more than one who sees civilians as vermin." she shrieked at him.  
  
"If what you are saying about people who wouldn't give a damn if you died is true, That they hold more worth than the average sewer rat than you should be able to defeat me." The man said  
  
The thicker blue energy of his moonlight formed from the enemy unit's wrist and made a point above his head. He charged the woman's mech unexpectedly and swung his sword horizontally its blue energy waving and dissipating in the air as he swung the blade from right to left. Suddenly time began to slow down for Losvaise. She could see blue energy from the blade slowly breaking away from the unit's shoulder.   
"No, he knows the wave attack" she thought fearfully. Quickly she leapt off to the right. The wave released severely missed her and demolishing a lamppost in the distance. She quickly boosted towards the foe and with her momentum pushing the mech towards him, she reeled back her arm and shoved the blade with a stabbing motion. The enemy unit turned to face her and began to retreat backwards.   
  
"I'm going to miss him unless… Unlock booster limitations" she thought. Valkyrie's boosters opened up to full pushing her towards the unit at an incredible rate of speed. The enemy began to swing his arm to repel the attack but the Losvaise's sword had already began to penetrate it's central core. The energy from the Valkyrie's red blade burned a corrosive hole in the core's generation and optional systems and continued to press it's way through. "Your hatred of the weak, of the defenseless, of those incapable of defending themselves bring about your death, mongrel" she shriek in anger.   
  
Losvaise pulled the sword from the enemy ac's chest and allowed the energy in it to dissipate. Her fallen foe's AC kneeled over and bowed it's head as it ceased to function.  
  
  
Losvaise adrenaline began to decline slowly has she began to catch her breath. Sweat dripped from her forehead and throughout her curly hair. Air pushed quickly and heavily through her lungs. The silence that she heard before their clashing began to set in again. However, The feeling of satisfaction from defeating an opponent, of immeasurable skill, a feeling that she almost cried for during peacetime, was not present. All she could feel was remorse and regret for the pilot.   
  
"You defeated me, I have never been defeated in my entire career. What could compel someone to fight so damn hard?" a hoarse voice crackled in her ears.  
  
"Having nothing to lose is often seen as a reason for being your most destructive your absolute dirtiest. Having everything to lose such as your freedom, your sanity, and perhaps others, is worth fighting your absolute best." Losvaise lectured.  
  
"To put it more simply I defeated you because my feelings for the defenseless people you killed and countless others you could have destroyed, wouldn't allow me to do otherwise." She continued  
  
"Well, Madam Losvaise perhaps your idealist ways are a great motivational tool. They seem to have kept you alive." the male pilot hissed.   
  
"I almost pity you for not having the same."  
  
"No, don't pity me, our lives had entirely different paths. Mine was one of Chaos and destruction. Yours was justice and the protection of others. Like you said earlier it only is that way because that is what we choose."   
  
"You know you're almost not that bad for mongrel… hey wait what is your name?" she  
  
"I'm called Mephisto. Come to think of it, you have more honor than the average rifle toting mercenary. " He laughed  
Losvaise could sense the man's tone losing it's energy. As she focused on Mephisto's voice patterns that she tracked within her plus vision, she could she them jumping less and less. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Her faults of caring for people allowed her to feel that way. Losvaise could see from her heart readings from her bio sensors that the man wasn't going to be in the world much longer.  
  
"You know in dieing you feel this moment of clarity. This feeling, so warm and so very much serene, it feels so much more fulfilling than battle . I've never felt more alive than now. Thank you my dear Valkyrie from releasing me from this path. I will never forget you " he said, voice failing  
  
Suddenly his bio readings flat-lined. His core became completely limp and it's arms hung down towards the ground probably reflecting the pilot's final position. It's crimson red visor slowly faded and became lifeless. That was one of darker things she hated about killing plus pilots; seeing the core go limp and almost die along with the pilot.  
  
"Mission Accomplished" her lifeless rough core computer crackled and displayed on her view screen.   
Losvaise didn't agree entirely with her core, but in the man's final words she felt a sense of satisfaction. Fate had brought her here to show Mephisto the darkness of his path. However, she couldn't help but ask herself if events could have gone differently.  
  
She removed her AC from combat mode into normal or restricted operational mode. It's arm joints rested themselves and hung the arms towards the ground. Moments later she rendezvoused with her land transport and loaded her core into it's hold along with her discarded rifle. After loading the unit, driver and passenger promptly made their way back on the much revered T-12 Highway.   
  
Losvaise disembarked from the unit into it's cramped hold and made her way to the passenger's seat. She slumped down in her seat still in her tight silver pilot suit and glanced over at the young driver of the transport. The driver glanced over at Losvaise acknowledging that she had joined him. "I heard the gist of the fight over radio, are you doing ok ma'am?" he asked sheepishly  
  
"I'm a bit exhausted physically and emotionally" she sighed. She pushed back her curly red hair past her neck and shut her eyes.   
  
"Get some rest ma'am it'll be a few hours before we hit the exit to the Sandoval airport. Besides, life doesn't give us too many chances to rest nowadays." He ordered the pilot.   
  
Losvaise nodded and lowered her seat back and closed her eyes. As rested and began to reflect on thing in her life, she couldn't help but to question many things. She didn't know if she would be able to raise arms against anyone again. She didn't know if could to stand watch one more person die. She didn't know if she could bring her self to take someone's life again. As the road began to grow silent. The comfort of sleep relieved her of at least some of her worries.  
  
  
  
  
The end--------------------------------------------------------   
  
The first story I ever finished in the entire time I've been on fanfiction.net. I really enjoyed writing a fic with the focus on a strong female character. I would love to see if any of you folk would want me to continue the adventures of Losvaise at all. Anyways I would to thank From Software for going forward with Shoji Kawamorii and creating one of the most kick ass Mecha Licenses. With luck I might make work on some of my fics a habit  
  
  



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